TechCrunch Disrupt
Melissa Li is a Gen Z tech investor and startup mentor, passionate about growing information and network access for underrepresented young founders.
Melissa is Head of Community and Managing Partner at Dorm Room Fund, the original student-run venture fund focused on backing university-based founders in their earliest days. In her role, Melissa leads platform offerings focused on portfolio companies’ engagement with Dorm Room Fund’s Gen Z audience and operator network, and community outreach and education initiatives focused on promoting student entrepreneurship and venture investing.
Day-to-day outside of Dorm Room Fund, Melissa is an early-stage consumer investor focused on web3, next-gen media, and the creator economy. She is also an active mentor/adviser to founder programs, where she helps pre-Series A founding teams find clarity around go-to-market strategy, product roadmaps, storytelling and brand messaging, and sales/growth flywheels. Some of the programs Melissa has previously mentored for or advised include the DayOne Fellowship, FoundersBoost LA, Springboard Enterprises' Digital Health track, Envision Accelerator, Founder Institute, and Blackstone Launchpad x Future Founders.
Melissa is bullish on backing founder talent in emerging tech hubs around the country — something that reflects in her work as a workshop lead/guest speaker at a number of leading university / community accelerators. Her personal mission of breaking down information asymmetries in VC has seen her speak frequently on the topics of pitching, proving traction and beginning the investor search.
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